Last year, Cox and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA) joined forces to launch a new approach to mentoring with a program called Beyond School Walls. Though other BBBS affiliates had tried the program, this was the first of its kind for Atlanta. This program combines traditional mentorship with an immersive educational experience. The one simple, but very important element that makes this program different than traditional mentoring programs is location.

Each year, as the Chamber Foundation hosts the Talent Forward national workforce conference, we focus on talent—educating and training, talent tech and data, recruiting, hiring, and upskilling. With no shortage of talent challenges, the opportunities for informative discussion are endless. While a day devoted to dissecting talent-related topics could focus solely on the problems, Talent Forward is all about the solutions.

Though not widely known outside of the education community, the Department of Education recently released information about a new pilot for institutions willing to reimagine their Federal Work Study (FWS) programs. Given the pilot’s emphasis on increased industry engagement in FWS, it is imperative that the business community be informed about the pilot and reach out to their education partners to leverage this pioneering opportunity to benefit our nation’s students. Chances like this are few and far between…and will become completely obsolete if limited interest prevails innovative thinking.

Employers are in a fight for qualified talent. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings rose to 7.5 million in March. The number of hires was 5.7 million. That leaves 1.8 million unfilled positions every month in the United States. Why?

To close the opportunity divide, cities like Boston are looking to strategic partnerships between employers and workforce and talent development programs to connect underserved youth with the work-based learning experiences that exist in their own community and help equip them with the skills and real-world experience they need to succeed in them.